# Cracked IMP Meerschaum



## Commander Quan (May 6, 2003)

Last weekend while I was smoking my newish IMP I noticed a hairline crack on the rim of the pipe that extends down the side of the pipe approximately 5mm and all the way through the sidewall. I am worried that as the pipe is smoked the heat will further crack the mineral until it can no longer be smoked. I contacted Kenan (Meerfan87 on ebay who I purchased this from) about this issue 2 days ago and have yet to hear a response. Has anyone ever had to deal with him on an issue like this? I know that a reputable vendor will guarantee against burnouts and such on briars for a period of time, but I am not sure what the policy is for something like this. I have had the pipe for 2 months and have smoked it less than 20 times.


----------



## CWL (Mar 25, 2010)

I've been having bad luck on eBay lately,

I'm actually about to leave a negative review on his eBay site. He advertised that he had 8 Butera coloring bowls so I made a "buy it now" purchase and paid immediately. 7-days later, I get an message saying that he was out of stock and it would take a few days to make one up. I checked eBay and his listing still says that he has 6 available... (see it here BUTERA COLORING BOWL - %100 TOP GRADE MEERSCHAUM - eBay (item 250623888609 end time Oct-26-10 03:59:18 PDT))

I make a complaint and he tells me that he has already shipped and provided me with a tracking # RR143332232TR and told me to wait 10 days before it will show up on USPS tracking system. 21-days later and that tracking # still shows as "no record of this item."

I'm pretty sure that he gave me a bogus tracking number just to buy time.

That's my experience, at least you got your pipe. I hope you get better service than I did.


----------



## Commander Quan (May 6, 2003)

I never got a tracking number when mine was sent out, but it took at least 3 weeks to get delivered, and the packaging material was less than I expected for an overseas shipment, but other than that I have no complaints. When I placed my order I sent him a message on ebay asking if he could ship to a different address than the one I had as my [email protected]@l address and he responded timely and obliged.


----------



## Mister Moo (Sep 8, 2005)

Too bad, that. FWIW, I got a hairline crack off the rim in my no-name meer-rhodesian after a few smokes. Seller offered to replace it with anything of similar value but he had no more rhodesians so I opted to keep the pipe and hope for the best. About 150-smokes later, no change.


----------



## Granger (Jul 24, 2010)

Commander Quan said:


> Last weekend while I was smoking my newish IMP I noticed a hairline crack on the rim of the pipe that extends down the side of the pipe approximately 5mm and all the way through the sidewall. I am worried that as the pipe is smoked the heat will further crack the mineral until it can no longer be smoked. I contacted Kenan (Meerfan87 on ebay who I purchased this from) about this issue 2 days ago and have yet to hear a response. Has anyone ever had to deal with him on an issue like this? I know that a reputable vendor will guarantee against burnouts and such on briars for a period of time, but I am not sure what the policy is for something like this. I have had the pipe for 2 months and have smoked it less than 20 times.


My one experience with him went like this.

Bought Pipe.
Waited 1 month...no Pipe.
Got Email...lots of excuses...
Waited more...no Pipe.
Told Pipe must be lost...promises to send new pipe...but keeps giving reasons to delay sending.
Original Pipe arrives...Its shipping date on the package was during the time he was promising to send me a new pipe.
Further emails unanswered.

Someone I know who has bought from him says he does that delaying thing because most people wait until delivery for leaving feedback, so if it takes a long time to get it, your ability to leave feedback expires. It did with me.

The pipe I got is pretty good, but the silver ring on it didn't fit. I had a local jeweler fix it. The pipe has been good, no cracks or any damage, but you never know.

I am resolved to stick with Altinok thank you! He may cost a little more, but great quality, always answers emails, and fixes any (very rare) issue.


----------



## juni (Oct 16, 2009)

I got mine after a little over a weeks wait. So far no cracks. 
I agree with using Altinok though, his customer service is exceptional.


----------



## MarkC (Jul 4, 2009)

I bought a coloring bowl from meerfan87 a while back, and while it took a while for it to arrive, I had no problems. I know that has nothing to do with your question, Derrick, but I'd thought I'd throw it out there.


----------



## dmkerr (Oct 27, 2008)

I've never had any problems with meerfan but I'll be interested to see how this turns out. It's not so straightforward a process to guarantee against burnouts in briar or cracks in meer because the seller never really knows if the pipe was abused or not (I know you didn't abuse yours, CQ) but a reputable seller needs to make the decision whether or not to protect their status as a quality seller. Negative Ebay feedback is one thing but negative info on a pipe-related site is just as bad IMHO.


----------



## Sinan Altinok (Jun 21, 2007)

I have to chime in right here. Kenan is in fact a family member of IMP and is working in the company as well. To sell IMP pipes so cheap, he should not be purchasing the pipes like we have to. I think this may explain the gap between the prices with him and others.

Sinan


----------



## dmkerr (Oct 27, 2008)

Sinan Altinok said:


> I have to chime in right here. Kenan is in fact a family member of IMP and is working in the company as well. To sell IMP pipes so cheap, he should not be purchasing the pipes like we have to. I think this may explain the gap between the prices with him and others.
> 
> Sinan


Thanks, Sinan. It also bears commenting on sellers in general.

IMHO, the mark of a good seller is what they do in the event of a problem. Someone who sells cheaply is NOT necessarily a good seller (and I'm not commenting on Kenan specifically - just speaking in general). A good seller takes care of his customers after the sale.

I can tell you that smokingpipes.com may sell IMP's for $40-50 more than the Ebay price, but they'll take care of you if a problem arises with the pipe. Let's see how Kenan does with this - I'm more than willing to give anyone associated with this fine hobby the benefit of the doubt.


----------



## Siv (Jul 26, 2010)

CQ, it's sad to hear of a meer that is cracked - I hope it all works out for you.

I ordered a custom carved meer from Tekin some time back and it never arrived. While communication was very slow and what appeared to be all sorts of excuses given about the pipe being lost in the post, he carved me another and this one arrived without incident. While I was very frustrated throughout the process, in the end it all worked out well. A little patience is probably needed when dealing with these international transactions.


----------



## indigosmoke (Sep 1, 2009)

Any update on this?


----------



## lbiislander (Oct 15, 2010)

CWL said:


> I make a complaint and he tells me that he has already shipped and provided me with a tracking # RR143332232TR and told me to wait 10 days before it will show up on USPS tracking system. 21-days later and that tracking # still shows as "no record of this item."
> 
> I'm pretty sure that he gave me a bogus tracking number just to buy time.


Did you mean UPS? I am a UPS shipper and you can track a package 24 HOURS later, not 21 DAYS. IJS


----------



## Commander Quan (May 6, 2003)

lbiislander said:


> Did you mean UPS? I am a UPS shipper and you can track a package 24 HOURS later, not 21 DAYS. IJS


No, it comes in the mail from Turkey

I have not heard back from him but will send him a second message today, but after hearing Moo's situation, I'm more comfortable keeping it just because I like it so much.


----------



## CWL (Mar 25, 2010)

Some of you have had better experiences, but Meerfan gave me a fake tracking no. to buy time and delay an eBay complaint filing. He never shipped anything btw That is my experience with him as a person.


----------

